Chapter 16

It was midday and the sun was blazing .

Gu Qingfeng’s body swayed along with the fine horse’s tail that he rode on the country road . From time to time would take out a small jug of wine from the storage bag at his waist and sipped some wine .

Looking at the Ouyang Ye who was next to him, he could not help but tease her, “Girl, you’ve been staring at me all the way, what’s the matter? Do you have a crush on me or something?”

If was an ordinary time, with Ouyang Ye’s character, she would’ve already spat in disgust and called him shameless . But at this moment, she only asked seriously, “Just who are you?”

It was a question she was dying to know the answer to .

Ouyang Ye could no understand why were his musical attainments so deep and immeasurable . Not only did he know a lot of songs, but he was also capable of displaying the concept within Drunken at the Blue Sea with his bare hands .

This was the Sovereign’s Drunken at the Blue Sea by Sovereign, not even the musicians she admired the most, Grandmaster Wen Zhu and Su Hua, could do it, but a guy that failed his Foundation Establishment could!

Ouyang Ye would not have believed it if she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes .

Even now, it felt so unreal and unbelievable .

“Who am I…” Gu Qingfeng smiled playfully, “Would you believe me if I said I’m Gu Tianlang?”

“Bah! You? How dare you call yourself my idol? ” Ouyang Ye fiercely despised him, “Do you really think you could claim to be my idol just because you’re surnamed Gu and can display the concept within Drunken at the Blue Sea? You’re really shameless!”

Gu Qingfeng just laughed out loud .

Looking at him, Ouyang Ye curled her lips and gave him a supercilious look, but inwardly she was trying to guess his identity .

This guy was so mysterious, just who was he?

Judging by his appearance, he was in his early twenties, and despite the fact that he failed in his Foundation Establishment, there was one thing that can’t be denied: his aptitude and spiritual root were definitely very outstanding since he could even attempt his Foundation Establishment at such a young age!

He also knew a lot of songs and his musical attainments were outrageously high!

Was he one of those people that came from ancient musical families that were several centuries years old?

Only those ancient musical families that had a deep background that spanned over centuries were capable of training such an outstanding musical genius!

Maybe he failed his Foundation Establishment and could no endure such a huge setback, and he also did not want to be faced with the callousness of his family, so he secretly left .

The more she thought about this, the more she felt it was the right answer .

After figuring it out, the bewildered and complex look in her eyes began decreasing, and they were replaced by pity and regret .

If he would’ve succeeded in his Foundation Establishment, he would’ve definitely become an outstanding character in the musical world someday in the future . Unfortunately, he failed and he was no longer able to cultivate .

Even though he was capable of displaying the concept within Drunken at the Blue Sea with just his bare hands, there was nothing more he could do . Because he could not cultivate anymore, there was no spiritual force inside his body and he wasn’t able to utilize spiritual arts, which rendered him incapable of bringing out the profundities within many songs!

It was too unfortunate .

Because of this, Ouyang Ye decided to not ask any more questions, lest she opened some wounds!

“Hey, you keep telling me to bring you to Redcloud Sect, what do you even want to do at my sect?”

“Didn’t I tell you? I want to see that old man Huode and reminisce about the past . ”

Gu Qingfeng didn’t lie . He didn’t have many friends in his younger days of cultivation, but Redcloud Sect’s Daoist Huode was a friend but also a teacher to him . Although the old man was quite obscene, lived a debauched life, he still respected him deeply . After leaving for so many years, he really wanted to meet the old man .

But the most important reason was that Redcloud Sect was his first sect after he set foot on the cultivation road and it held many memories from his youth .

“You really know Elder Huode?” Ouyang Ye has a bit skeptical, but only a little . She knew that Daoist Huode liked to wander around and he made friends with people of all backgrounds .

Recalling Gu Qingfeng’s musical accomplishments, she asked, “Did Elder Huode ever hear you play?”

“No . Even finding a meal was difficult for me back when I met him . How could I be in the mood to study something as elegant as music?”

Gu Qingfeng took spiritual fruit out of the storage bag at his waist and ate it . The storage bag was Ouyang Ye’s, and he asked for it before leaving the Superb Villa . He placed a lot of delicious food and drinks with him for the road .

“Me and that old man Huode kind of met through gambling . ” Thinking about gambling, Gu Qingfeng couldn’t help but laugh, “Speaking of which, that old man still owes me a lot of gambling debts . ”

Hearing this, Ouyang Ye more or less believed him . That’s because Daoist Huode was known for his love of gambling, and there was nothing in this world that he could no gamble . From a single spiritual stone, to an ancient magic treasure .

“By the way, what’s his cultivation base now?”

“Cultivation base? Daoist Huode is obviously at the Golden Core Realm . ”

“He’s still at the Golden Core Realm?” Gu Qingfeng was taken aback .

Back when he was still a kid, Daoist Huode was already a famous Golden Core expert in the Bluesun Domain . Gu Qingfeng had spent two hundred years in this world, and another two hundred in the Heavenly World . Taking into account the century that he had spent into slumber after the Tribulation of Heavens, there were five hundred years in total, and yet Huode was still a Golden Core expert?

Upon hearing this, Ouyang Ye was somewhat displeased and said, ”Do you think cultivation is easy? There are four cultivation stages, and every one of them contained three realms, making it twelve realms in total . ”

“You need to seriously cultivate and prepare before breaking through each realm . Even if it’s just the Foundation Establishment of the first stage, if it’s not firm enough and you just blindly attempt your breakthrough, you will only…”

Ouyang Ye didn’t say the rest but only muttered, “The Golden Core Realm is the critical point of the second stage, and naturally, one has to cultivate thoroughly before breaking through . Elder Huode has only spent five hundred years old in the Golden Core, but many seniors stay even 1,000 years in this realm and still don’t dare to breakthrough . There’s nothing strange about that . ”

In this world, there were four cultivation stages that altogether had twelve realms:

Cultivator stage: Postnatal Realm, Connate Realm, Foundation Establishment Realm .

Daoist stage: True Body Realm, Purple Mansion Realm, Golden Core Realm .

Daolord stage: Primal Soul Realm, Dao Heart Realm, Dharma Idol Realm .

Earth Immortal stage: Major Cycle Realm, Atavism Realm, Transcending Tribulation Realm .

It was just as Ouyang Ye said, and everyone had to thoroughly prepare themselves before every breakthrough, or they would fail, especially in the last realm in each stage .

Even if the Foundation Establishment was successful, many people did not dare to move on to the next stage within a short period of time, blindingly establishing their true body, because if they did not establish it properly, it will only drag down their cultivation road in the future .

Likewise, after the Golden Core was produced, it was rare for anyone to move to the next stage of forming their primal soul because in a short while . If the primal soul had not been formed properly, in the future at the Transcending Tribulation Realm, it would be destroyed, leading to death .

Of course, everyone had different ideas . For example . Back in Gu Qingfeng’s younger cultivation days, he did no think about too many things, and when he had the chance of breaking through, he did . Thinking back about his cultivation road from back then, it was really a miracle that he did not die and was even able to transcend his tribulation .

“I remember that your Redcloud Sect had five elders of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, known as the elders of the five virtues, right? How are they all doing now?”

Gu Qingfeng vaguely remembered that Redcloud Sect was the largest cultivation sect in the Bluesun Domain back in the day, and those five elders of Redcloud Sect were powerful masters .

He had a good relationship with Elder Huode, but that didn’t mean this applied to the other ones . Not only was his relationship with the other four bad, but Gu Qingfeng had even treated these other four elders as enemies for a time when he was young .

“The elders of the five virtues are all well . ”

“Really?” Gu Qingfeng laughed and asked, ”Is Elder Mude still pedantic? Does he still only care about those with good spiritual roots and disregard the ones with bad spiritual roots?”

Ouyang Ye was surprised and asked, “How do you know?”

“How do I know? Heh . ” Gu Qingfeng laughed and but didn’t say anything more .

He was actually full of resentment towards that old man, because, in his younger days when he took the test to enter the sect, he had obviously passed it, but because his aptitude and spiritual root were mediocre, he was rejected by that old man . He even said that those with average spiritual roots had no chance of cultivating .

“What about Elder Jinde? This old man was extremely shrewd and he only cared about profit . He will do anything for his own profit . ”

When Gu Qingfeng was working as a janitor in Redcloud Sect, he almost died at the hands of that old man because he beat up the disciple of his . If not for Huode’s intervention, Gu Qingfeng would’ have actually been killed by him .

“You…how do you know so much about the Redcloud Sect?” Ouyang Ye really couldn’t figure out why Gu Qingfeng was so familiar with the temperaments of the sect elders .

Gu Qingfeng laughed and asked again, ”What was the name of Elder Jinde’s disciple? When he was young he had a decent aptitude which made him extremely rampant . Hmm, what was his name?”

After thinking about it for a moment, he really could not remember the name of the guy he had beaten up back then .

“Are you talking about Deacon Guang Yuan?”

“Oh, right, Guang yuan! That’s him!” Gu Qingfeng patted his forehead and smiled, “Is that guy still alive?”

“Hey, Gu Qingfeng, even though some of Deacon Guang Yuan’s actions disgust me, in the end, he is a deacon of my Redcloud Sect! Can you please not speak ill of my Redcloud Sect seniors in front of me?”

“Hahaha!” Gu Qingfeng tilted his head and drank another mouthful of wine, then laughed, “It’s great that all of them are alive . I’m really looking forward to meeting those guys again . ”

—

Elders of the five virtues:

Huode – Virtue of fire .

Jinde – Virtue of metal .

Mude – Virtue of wood .

Shuide – Virtue of water .

Tude – Virtue of earth .

It was midday and the sun was blazing .

Gu Qingfeng’s body swayed along with the fine horse’s tail that he rode on the country road . From time to time would take out a small jug of wine from the storage bag at his waist and sipped some wine .

Looking at the Ouyang Ye who was next to him, he could not help but tease her, “Girl, you’ve been staring at me all the way, what’s the matter? Do you have a crush on me or something?”

If was an ordinary time, with Ouyang Ye’s character, she would’ve already spat in disgust and called him shameless . But at this moment, she only asked seriously, “Just who are you?”

It was a question she was dying to know the answer to .

Ouyang Ye could no understand why were his musical attainments so deep and immeasurable . Not only did he know a lot of songs, but he was also capable of displaying the concept within Drunken at the Blue Sea with his bare hands .

This was the Sovereign’s Drunken at the Blue Sea by Sovereign, not even the musicians she admired the most, Grandmaster Wen Zhu and Su Hua, could do it, but a guy that failed his Foundation Establishment could!

Ouyang Ye would not have believed it if she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes .

Even now, it felt so unreal and unbelievable .

“Who am I…” Gu Qingfeng smiled playfully, “Would you believe me if I said I’m Gu Tianlang?”

“Bah! You? How dare you call yourself my idol? ” Ouyang Ye fiercely despised him, “Do you really think you could claim to be my idol just because you’re surnamed Gu and can display the concept within Drunken at the Blue Sea? You’re really shameless!”

Gu Qingfeng just laughed out loud .

Looking at him, Ouyang Ye curled her lips and gave him a supercilious look, but inwardly she was trying to guess his identity .

This guy was so mysterious, just who was he?

Judging by his appearance, he was in his early twenties, and despite the fact that he failed in his Foundation Establishment, there was one thing that can’t be denied: his aptitude and spiritual root were definitely very outstanding since he could even attempt his Foundation Establishment at such a young age!

He also knew a lot of songs and his musical attainments were outrageously high!

Was he one of those people that came from ancient musical families that were several centuries years old?

Only those ancient musical families that had a deep background that spanned over centuries were capable of training such an outstanding musical genius!

Maybe he failed his Foundation Establishment and could no endure such a huge setback, and he also did not want to be faced with the callousness of his family, so he secretly left .

The more she thought about this, the more she felt it was the right answer .

After figuring it out, the bewildered and complex look in her eyes began decreasing, and they were replaced by pity and regret .

If he would’ve succeeded in his Foundation Establishment, he would’ve definitely become an outstanding character in the musical world someday in the future . Unfortunately, he failed and he was no longer able to cultivate .

Even though he was capable of displaying the concept within Drunken at the Blue Sea with just his bare hands, there was nothing more he could do . Because he could not cultivate anymore, there was no spiritual force inside his body and he wasn’t able to utilize spiritual arts, which rendered him incapable of bringing out the profundities within many songs!

It was too unfortunate .

Because of this, Ouyang Ye decided to not ask any more questions, lest she opened some wounds!

“Hey, you keep telling me to bring you to Redcloud Sect, what do you even want to do at my sect?”

“Didn’t I tell you? I want to see that old man Huode and reminisce about the past . ”

Gu Qingfeng didn’t lie . He didn’t have many friends in his younger days of cultivation, but Redcloud Sect’s Daoist Huode was a friend but also a teacher to him . Although the old man was quite obscene, lived a debauched life, he still respected him deeply . After leaving for so many years, he really wanted to meet the old man .

But the most important reason was that Redcloud Sect was his first sect after he set foot on the cultivation road and it held many memories from his youth .

“You really know Elder Huode?” Ouyang Ye has a bit skeptical, but only a little . She knew that Daoist Huode liked to wander around and he made friends with people of all backgrounds .

Recalling Gu Qingfeng’s musical accomplishments, she asked, “Did Elder Huode ever hear you play?”

“No . Even finding a meal was difficult for me back when I met him . How could I be in the mood to study something as elegant as music?”

Gu Qingfeng took spiritual fruit out of the storage bag at his waist and ate it . The storage bag was Ouyang Ye’s, and he asked for it before leaving the Superb Villa . He placed a lot of delicious food and drinks with him for the road .

“Me and that old man Huode kind of met through gambling . ” Thinking about gambling, Gu Qingfeng couldn’t help but laugh, “Speaking of which, that old man still owes me a lot of gambling debts . ”

Hearing this, Ouyang Ye more or less believed him . That’s because Daoist Huode was known for his love of gambling, and there was nothing in this world that he could no gamble . From a single spiritual stone, to an ancient magic treasure .

“By the way, what’s his cultivation base now?”

“Cultivation base? Daoist Huode is obviously at the Golden Core Realm . ”

“He’s still at the Golden Core Realm?” Gu Qingfeng was taken aback .

Back when he was still a kid, Daoist Huode was already a famous Golden Core expert in the Bluesun Domain . Gu Qingfeng had spent two hundred years in this world, and another two hundred in the Heavenly World . Taking into account the century that he had spent into slumber after the Tribulation of Heavens, there were five hundred years in total, and yet Huode was still a Golden Core expert?

Upon hearing this, Ouyang Ye was somewhat displeased and said, ”Do you think cultivation is easy? There are four cultivation stages, and every one of them contained three realms, making it twelve realms in total . ”

“You need to seriously cultivate and prepare before breaking through each realm . Even if it’s just the Foundation Establishment of the first stage, if it’s not firm enough and you just blindly attempt your breakthrough, you will only…”

Ouyang Ye didn’t say the rest but only muttered, “The Golden Core Realm is the critical point of the second stage, and naturally, one has to cultivate thoroughly before breaking through . Elder Huode has only spent five hundred years old in the Golden Core, but many seniors stay even 1,000 years in this realm and still don’t dare to breakthrough . There’s nothing strange about that . ”

In this world, there were four cultivation stages that altogether had twelve realms:

Cultivator stage: Postnatal Realm, Connate Realm, Foundation Establishment Realm .

Daoist stage: True Body Realm, Purple Mansion Realm, Golden Core Realm .

Daolord stage: Primal Soul Realm, Dao Heart Realm, Dharma Idol Realm .

Earth Immortal stage: Major Cycle Realm, Atavism Realm, Transcending Tribulation Realm .

It was just as Ouyang Ye said, and everyone had to thoroughly prepare themselves before every breakthrough, or they would fail, especially in the last realm in each stage .

Even if the Foundation Establishment was successful, many people did not dare to move on to the next stage within a short period of time, blindingly establishing their true body, because if they did not establish it properly, it will only drag down their cultivation road in the future .

Likewise, after the Golden Core was produced, it was rare for anyone to move to the next stage of forming their primal soul because in a short while . If the primal soul had not been formed properly, in the future at the Transcending Tribulation Realm, it would be destroyed, leading to death .

Of course, everyone had different ideas . For example . Back in Gu Qingfeng’s younger cultivation days, he did no think about too many things, and when he had the chance of breaking through, he did . Thinking back about his cultivation road from back then, it was really a miracle that he did not die and was even able to transcend his tribulation .

“I remember that your Redcloud Sect had five elders of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, known as the elders of the five virtues, right? How are they all doing now?”

Gu Qingfeng vaguely remembered that Redcloud Sect was the largest cultivation sect in the Bluesun Domain back in the day, and those five elders of Redcloud Sect were powerful masters .

He had a good relationship with Elder Huode, but that didn’t mean this applied to the other ones . Not only was his relationship with the other four bad, but Gu Qingfeng had even treated these other four elders as enemies for a time when he was young .

“The elders of the five virtues are all well . ”

“Really?” Gu Qingfeng laughed and asked, ”Is Elder Mude still pedantic? Does he still only care about those with good spiritual roots and disregard the ones with bad spiritual roots?”

Ouyang Ye was surprised and asked, “How do you know?”

“How do I know? Heh . ” Gu Qingfeng laughed and but didn’t say anything more .

He was actually full of resentment towards that old man, because, in his younger days when he took the test to enter the sect, he had obviously passed it, but because his aptitude and spiritual root were mediocre, he was rejected by that old man . He even said that those with average spiritual roots had no chance of cultivating .

“What about Elder Jinde? This old man was extremely shrewd and he only cared about profit . He will do anything for his own profit . ”

When Gu Qingfeng was working as a janitor in Redcloud Sect, he almost died at the hands of that old man because he beat up the disciple of his . If not for Huode’s intervention, Gu Qingfeng would’ have actually been killed by him .

“You…how do you know so much about the Redcloud Sect?” Ouyang Ye really couldn’t figure out why Gu Qingfeng was so familiar with the temperaments of the sect elders .

Gu Qingfeng laughed and asked again, ”What was the name of Elder Jinde’s disciple? When he was young he had a decent aptitude which made him extremely rampant . Hmm, what was his name?”

After thinking about it for a moment, he really could not remember the name of the guy he had beaten up back then .

“Are you talking about Deacon Guang Yuan?”

“Oh, right, Guang yuan! That’s him!” Gu Qingfeng patted his forehead and smiled, “Is that guy still alive?”

“Hey, Gu Qingfeng, even though some of Deacon Guang Yuan’s actions disgust me, in the end, he is a deacon of my Redcloud Sect! Can you please not speak ill of my Redcloud Sect seniors in front of me?”

“Hahaha!” Gu Qingfeng tilted his head and drank another mouthful of wine, then laughed, “It’s great that all of them are alive . I’m really looking forward to meeting those guys again . ”

—

Elders of the five virtues:

Huode – Virtue of fire .

Jinde – Virtue of metal .

Mude – Virtue of wood .

Shuide – Virtue of water .

Tude – Virtue of earth .